§ 3210 — Amount and character of required attendance

§ 3210. Amount and character of required attendance. 1. Regularity and\nconduct. a. A minor required by the provisions of part one of this\narticle to attend upon instruction shall attend regularly as prescribed\nwhere he resides or is employed, for the entire time the appropriate\npublic schools or classes are in session and shall be subordinate and\norderly while so attending.\n b. (i) Absence for religious observance and education shall be\npermitted under rules that the commissioner shall establish.\n (ii) In addition, the board of education or trustees shall determine\nwhether school session should not be held at an individual public\nschool, or district-wide, on a day where, if school were in session,\nabsenteeism may result in the waste of educational resources because a\nconsiderable proportion of the student population is unlikely to attend\nbecause of a religious or cultural day of observance.\n c. In the event that a person requests the release of a minor required\nby the provisions of part one of this article to attend upon\ninstruction, the identity of such person shall be verified against a\nlist of names provided by the person or persons in parental relation to\nthe minor, as defined in section two of this chapter, at the time of\nsuch minor's enrollment. The school district may adopt appropriate\nprocedures for the purpose of submitting a list of names at a later date\nor updating the list of names provided by the person or persons in\nparental relation. If such person is identified as one of those persons\nincluded on such list, such minor may be released from attendance. If\nsuch person is identified as a person not included on such list, such\nminor may not be released except in the event of an emergency as\ndetermined in the sole discretion of the principal of the school, or his\ndesignee, provided that the person or persons in parental relation to\nthe minor have been contacted and have agreed to such release. A school\ndistrict may presume that either parent of the student has authority to\nobtain the release of said minor unless the school district has been\nprovided with a certified copy of the legally binding instrument such as\nthe court order or decree of divorce, separation or custody which\nprovides evidence to the contrary. No situation shall be deemed an\nemergency until the facts of such situation have been verified by such\nprincipal or his designee. No civil or criminal liability shall arise or\nattach to any school district or employee thereof for any act or\nomission to act as a result of, or in connection with, the duties or\nactivities authorized or directed by this paragraph. The foregoing\nprocedure shall not apply to release of a minor pursuant to the\nprotective custody provisions of the social services law and the family\ncourt act.\n 2. Attendance elsewhere than at a public school. a. Hours of\nattendance. If a minor included by the provisions of part one of this\narticle attends upon instruction elsewhere than at a public school, he\nshall attend for at least as many hours, and within the hours specified\ntherefor.\n b. Absence. Absence from required attendance shall be permitted only\nfor causes allowed by the general rules and practices of the public\nschools. Absence for religious observance and education shall be\npermitted under rules that the commissioner shall establish.\n c. Holidays and vacations. Holidays and vacations shall not exceed in\ntotal amount and number those allowed by the public schools.\n d. Exception. In applying the foregoing requirements a minor required\nto attend upon full time day instruction by the provisions of part one\nof this article may be permitted to attend for a shorter school day or\nfor a shorter school year or for both, provided, in accordance with the\nregulations of the state education department, the instruction he\nreceives has been approved by the school authorities as being\nsubstantially equivalent in amount and quality to that required by the\nprovisions of part one of this article.\n